Duel
Ahatake was standing in the middle of the town square, his Duel disk securely on his arm. He was about to challenge an opponent he'd lost to before. The crowd was watching. This was his chance to redeem himself. Problem? His opponent was late. As usual, no one found Josho when he scheduled a match. He found them. As Ahatake looked about him, he turned back to find Josho standing directly in front of him. "I've decided it's time to start," he said, brandishing his duel disk in a manner so calculatedly flamboyant that it caught the attention of the entire square, which began to empty alarmingly fast once Josho's signature red hair became apparent. He stepped in close. "This'll be the third time I defeat you. You're too weak to be a challenge, so at least make it fun this time." He stepped back and went to his edge of the square, prepping his deck. "I'll give you the first move. There's at least a small chance that it'll give you an extra turn of survival." Ahatake released the Hologram projectors from his duel disk, and 8000 lifepoints appeared on both their counters. "Shut it Josho." Ahatake said, irritated, drawing his five cards. "I've changed my deck since last time. I play one monster face-down in defense position, and I end my turn here." Josho gave a smirk as he grandiosely drew his hand. "You can't take away my privileges; I've earned this right of boasting. I'll start off by destroying your new deck, and then finish up by burning it, just to show you the difference between our skill, and our positions in the world. I am leagues above you!" He glanced at his cards almost nonchalantly as he spoke. Without thinking for an instant, he sighed. "And it looks like I'll be proving it rather fast, too. I start off by setting one card facedown on the field. Next, I play the card Macro Cosmos! It allows me to special summon one Helios - The Primordial Sun! Unfortunately, I won't be attacking this turn. Your move." "All of that sounded like gibberish to me, Josho." Ahatake said, drawing his next card. "Tch." "Now, I play two cards facedown, and then activate the magic card, Exchange! This card forces us to show our hands to each other, and then we are allowed to take one card from them." Ahatake revealed his hand, White Magical Hat, and Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord. Josho seemed totally unperturbed by this revelation. "You've got some timing. I was about to complain about my horrid hand." He flipped his hand around, displaying Dark Hole and Gren Maju Da Eiza. "Take your pick of these; I really don't care either way. In addition, I choose your Exodius. Give it here." He beckoned imperiously with his hand, while not deigning to even look Ahatake in the face. Ahatake handed over the Exodus in exchange for the Gren Maju. "Next, I play the White Magical Hat in Attack Mode! Now White Magical Hat! Attack his Helios! Send it into Oblivion!" The man jumped from his position, swinging his top hat directly at Helios. Helios shattered before the hat-wearing magician, but Josho actually seemed pleased. "Thanks to Macro Cosmos, Helios is removed from play. Since it was in defense mode as per Macro Cosmos' stipulations, I receive no damage. Will that be all for this turn of yours?" "Yes, turn end." Josho let out an inward sigh; another attack would have boded ill for him. Luckily, he had been saved. "Now, time to begin the end. First, I draw." He smiled maliciously as he did so. "Now, I start my turn by playing Dark Hole and removing your facedown monster and White Magical Hat from play, as per the rules of Macro Cosmos." As the monster cards faded away, Josho continued, "But I'm not finished. I play Mystic Tomato faceup in Attack Mode! He proceeds to attack you directly!" Obeying its orders, the Tomato leapt straight for the undefended Ahatake's chest. "Tch!" Ahatake hissed as his life points were drained. "Is that all?" Giving a luxurious stretch, Josho allowed himself to gloat. "Why, yes, for now I think it is. But it really is quite a large first step towards burning those cards of yours." He suddenly became dead serious, glaring straight at Ahatake. "Do you think that one card you're about to draw can stop me? I end my turn, so go ahead. Try it." Jason drew, and then smiled. "I believe it can. I summon my second favorite card, Magician's Valkyria!" The woman appeared on the field as he played the card in face-up Attack position. "Next, I activate my face-down magic card, Swords of Revealing Light!" The card stood upright as multiple energy swords hung in the air around Josho. Now you can't attack for three turns. Magician's Valkrya! Send that rotten piece of fruit to the garbage! Mage Shock!" Magician's Valkyria fired a blast of energy from her wand at the Tomato. Josho winced ever so slightly as he lost two hundred Life Points. Yet as the tomato was removed from play, he began to laugh, much as he had in previous bouts with Ahatake. If the inferior duelist had any memory at all, Josho thought, he would realize why he shouldn't have done that, and what this laughter meant. "Thank you! For the trifling price of two hundred Life Points, I can now greet you with an old friend! Using the effect of my Tomato, I special summon... Yubel!" The Dark being appeared on the field, weak-looking, but as it made its entrance, Josho's smile widened. "Is that all you've got for this turn? Or would you rather try to delay the end a little longer, no matter that it would be in vain?" "You still can't attack for three turns!" Ahatake said. "That will be enough time to come up with something! I end my turn." Josho drew his cards in silence. Then he smiled. "I doubt it. I summon Exodius the Ultimate Forbidden Lord. As there are no monsters in my graveyard, I summon it for nothing. As I can't attack, it is useless in that regard. Instead, I will tribute it to satisfy Yubel's sacrifice demands, and end my turn." Ahatake drew a card, and frowned before adding it to his hand. "I end my turn." Once again, Josho seemed ready for a silent draw, but as he glimpsed the card, he laughed, though more quietly this time. "And now we begin the closing act of this pitiful dogfight. I play Raigeki Break, and discard Caius the Shadow Monarch from my hand, in order to destroy my Yubel." At the puzzled look on Ahatake's face, he only shook his head. "You can't even comprehend the level on which I think, let alone the strategies I form there. This duel was over the minute I was born superior to you by such distances. With the destruction of my Yubel, I can special summon Yubel - Terror Incarnate!" Taking the place of Yubel was a dark mist, that quickly solidified into a shadowy dragon-like being. "With the effect of this new monster, I commence my End Phase by destroying all other monsters on the field, removing them from play via Macro Cosmos' effect. Then, I end my turn." "Valkyria no!" Ahatake was shocked as his monster was destroyed. His only defence, apart from the swords. "Bastard!" He drew his card. "Useless!" He hissed. "I end my turn." Josho stretched lazily. "Well, I'll draw, but it's not like I need to do anything defensive, and I can't do anything offensive with those swords up. I draw and end my turn." He took a card as it became Ahatake's turn again. Ahatake drew his card, and immediately played it. "I play the Magic Card Stray Lambs." Two lambs appeared on his side of the field. "This should give me some extra defense for awhile. I end my turn." After this Josho's next turn ended, the Swords would fade. Josho drew one more card. He made as if to end his turn, then added, "I almost forgot. Your lambs are destroyed by my new Yubel's effect. Now, end turn." The swords faded as Ahatake drew his next card. "I can't catch a break here." He thought to himself. "WHY do I keep challenging this guy!?" He played one monster in defense position facedown. "Go." Smirking, Josho drew a card. "I play another Dark Tomato, and he attacks your face-down monster!" The facedown monster turned out to be Mythical Beast Cerberus, with a defense of 1400, equal to the tomato. It was a stalemate. As the two were both unharmed by the tie in power, Josho's grin grew wider, an act it had not ceased since he had played his first Tomato. "Well, then. I commence the end phase. Au revoir, failed opponent and useless ally." As he said this, Cerberus and the Tomato were both destroyed as if on cue, a result of Yubel's ability. "Now, I end my turn again." "Tch." He immediately drew his next card and played it facedown. "Next, I play the Time Wizard! And now, I activated it's ability. Spin, Time Roulette!" The hand on the Wizard's wand began to spin. "Please, not a skull...please not a skull." After a moments silence, the hand landed on a Time Machine. "YES!!!" Ahatake cried as time began to fast forward, leaving Yubel only as a fossil. "So much for Terror Incarnate. I end my turn." "Well, finally. The crescendo has been reached," Josho poetically remarked as he activated Yubel's ability. "I now special summon Yubel - The Ultimate Nightmare!" The demonic, somewhat draconic being materialized on the field. "Now, then, I begin my turn." Drawing, Josho said, "I play one card face down. Next, I attack your Time Wizard with Yubel! Its effect causes Time Wizard to be destroyed, and you take 500 damage to your Life Points. End Turn." "Shit." He looked at the card he drew. "C'mon dammit!" He sighed. "I end my turn." He couldn't play Gren Maju. It would be too powerful, and he'd wind up losing his life points if he attacked. "Well, then, the last notes have played. In five turns, this shall have ended." Josho drew a card, but didn't even look at it, playing a card already in his hand instead. "I play Gren Maju Da Eiza! With nine of my cards removed from play, it's attack becomes 3600!" The fiend appeared, enormous, and roared terrifyingly. "Destroy him!" The massive fiend raged forwards towards Ahatake. "ACTIVATE TRAP!" Ahatake cried, raising his hand. "Shadow Spell!" Chains immediately shot out of the card, wrapping Gren Maju Da Eiza and weakening it by 700 points. "Now your monster is bound, and useless to you!" "You are truly the worst duelist in this city, Ahatake." Josho waved an arm dismissively, and the trap card shattered, taking the chains with it. "Wha-what?!" Ahatake stuttered. Josho replied lazily, "Idiot. I activated my spell card, Mystical Space Typhoon. Your card is destroyed. And so are most of your life points." Gren Maju Da Eiza collided with Ahatake, proving Josho right. "I end my turn." "HOW!?" Ahatake thought as his life points depleted before his eyes. He drew another card and played it facedown. Next, he played a monster in facedown defense mode. "Go." Josho didn't even bother showing emotion. "And now I end it. Yubel, attack his monster!" "Activate trap! Magical Arm Shield!" The shield's arms reached out, and grabbed Gren Maju Da Eiza, and placed it in Yubel's line of fire. Josho was still unperturbed. Yubel took no damage, and since Gren Maju Da Eiza was not technically "his opponent's monster", as the text of Yubel's card said, it was also unharmed. "Now, Gren Maju Da Eiza! Attack his face down card yourself!" The card, Skilled Dark Magician, was devoured. "Are you done?" Josho smiled. "Yes, I am. Take your final, pitiful turn." Drawing his next card, he played it. "I activate the magic of the pot of greed, allowing me to draw two cards into my hand." He drew two cards. "Now, I activate card destruction, forcing both of us to discard our cards. At this point, he had four cards, not counting card destruction, and sent them all to the Grave, or, rather, removed them from play due to Macro Cosmos, drawing three new cards. "Next, I play one monster in face-down defense." He ended his turn. Josho discarded his three cards, then drew another three. "Alright! I play Exiled Force, then immediately tribute it to destroy your face-down monster. Next, I attack with Gren Maju Da Eiza!" The massive being, now with 5200 attack points, struck straight at Ahatake. "One more time! Trigger facedown card! Magic Cylinder!" Two cylinders popped up, absorbing one of Maju's limbs and firing it straight back at the monster. With this, Josho would take 5,200 points of damage. Josho waved his arm. "Stop this foolishness. Once more, I activate my trap. Another Raigeki Break ought to finish this foolishness! I discard my Monster Reborn card and destroy your Magic Cylinders! Continue the attack!" Ahatake's life points were immediately depleted to zero. "Damn it. I lost...again..." Josho collected his cards. "Of course." As Ahatake pounded the ground, Josho suddenly appeared next to him, his hand grabbing Aha's deck. "Have to fulfill my promises entirely, though." He slipped away as Ahatake looked up. Later that night, a bonfire burned on top of an abandoned warehouse. Josho stood in front of it, looking solemn. An instant later, his face broke into a wide grin, and he hurled Ahatake's cards into the blaze. They sat for a second, then curled and blackened before catching aflame and burning down to ash and air. As Ahatake left, he chuckled, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the Dark Magician Girl. Josho hadn't burned them all...